What makes a website accessible?

Websites are a huge part of how we all do day-to-day life and work.  Therefore, it’s vital that they can be consumed by everyone, including those with additional needs.

The most accessible websites follow the WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.  This is seen as a practical benchmark, and the guidelines are split into 4 key areas:

• Perceivable
• Operable
• Understandable
• Robust

These four areas, if addressed properly, are the foundations for all users, including those with disabilities, to be able to get the most from a website.

In this article, we are breaking down the WCAG guidelines to help you apply them to your own website and thus improve its accessibility.

Can the user read and understand your content?  They may have a visual impairment, learning disabilities or other needs.  To be accessible, everyone should have an equal opportunity to consume the information on your website.

How do you make your website perceivable?

• Provide text and non-text content: This could be in the form of videos with captions, or good imagery with captions.
• Present content in different ways: Ensure content is adaptable and can be presented in various ways, such as text-to-speech and adjustable font sizing and font depth.
• Responsive design: The website should re-size effectively, remain usable and text legible. This includes when the website is enlarged to fit bigger screens or projectors, or to smaller devices such as a mobile phone.
• Make content easy to see and hear: Use high contrast between the text and the background, and ensure that there is a range of ways to convey the information.

Operable refers to whether the user can physically operate the website using the navigational tools you provide. To make your website more operable, consider:

• Keyboard-only navigation: All functionality, including links, buttons, and forms, should be usable with only a keyboard. Mouse use and touch screen can be challenging for some users.
• Give users time: Provide enough time for users to read and interact with your content.
• Avoid content which triggers: Be careful to ensure that your content does not contain anything that could trigger seizures or other physical reactions.
• Easy navigation: All users should be able to navigate and find content easily.

The purpose of your website is to provide information, so being understandable is crucial for everyone. A website that is easy to understand includes:

• Readable text: Plain, simple language. Content structured with clear headings and spacing.
• Predictable operation: Content should appear and operate in consistent and predictable ways.
• Consistent flow: Consistent navigation, colour schemes and layouts to help and support user comprehension.
• Error prevention: Provide clear error messages and help users avoid and correct mistakes, particularly in forms.

Robust means that the website has the structure and capability to handle external technology requirements needed by the user. Areas to consider are:

• HTML and CSS should be used properly: Adhere to web standards so that the underlying code can be correctly interpreted by browsers and assistive technologies.
• Compatibility: The website’s code and structure should be written to be compatible with a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies such as screen readers.

We are Olamalu, Drupal experts and experienced web developers. We’re a friendly and down-to-earth team based in West Oxfordshire who work together to achieve brilliant outcomes. We’ve been developing websites and designing tailor-made tech solutions for a huge range of different challenges for over 15 years.